The King's Lover-Chapter 410: For Appearances’ Sake

Rose could hear drums; it sounded gentle at first, and she almost nodded her head to the beat. Then it became louder and more urgent. It sounded as though someone was knocking on wood.

Knocking.

Rose’s eyes flew open as she realized it wasn’t drums she was dreaming about; rather, someone was knocking on her door. She tried to get out of bed and found that she couldn’t move. The Crown Prince was still asleep, and he held her tighter.

Why are you still here?

It wasn’t like the crown prince to oversleep and there have been very few times when she woke up before him. However, this was not the day such a mishap would be overlooked. If they were found, Rose wasn’t sure she would survive this time.

She tried but couldn’t wiggle free. She couldn’t comprehend how he was this strong while asleep. Another thing bothered her: Caius was a light sleeper. Even the smallest sound from her woke him up, but he wasn’t stirring.

Rose struggled to get out of his grasp again but quickly realized she was waking up something else. She quickly tried a different tactic.

"Your Majesty," she called against his chest.

"Hmm," he replied.

Rose was stunned at how quickly he answered. She was so sure he was dead to the world, yet he had answered her on the first call.

Caius was actually deeply asleep and had only answered because only Rose called him Your Majesty.

"Please, wake up. It is morning, and the maids are here."

His eyes struggled to open, and he looked down to see Rose staring at him with concern. His first instinct was to kiss her; it had been a while since they woke up together. But Caius knew he wouldn’t leave until he was completely satisfied.

He heard the knock and then a frantic call. "Rose!"

"One moment," she yelled out. "I overslept."

Caius wondered if they would be able to hear her.

Quietly, she pleaded, "Your Majesty, please."

Caius slowly let go of her, even though he would rather have kept his arms around her for the rest of the day. He could clearly remember what had happened the night before, and none of his actions had been uncontrolled.

"You have to leave," she was saying.

Caius knew what she meant, but he couldn’t help entertaining the idea that the maids would walk in on them. The scandal would spread faster than his wedding.

He forced himself to get out of bed and walked toward the wardrobe. He fiddled around the side until he found the mechanism that moved it. He walked in and glanced at Rose before the wardrobe closed.

Rose let out a sigh of relief but then realized the Crown Prince had left his boots and sword. She immediately kicked them under the bed and prayed her maids wouldn’t notice before she went to unlock the door to let them in.

Caius stepped out of the wall in his room and heard a knock just as loud as the knocking in Rose’s room had been. He groaned softly and cracked his neck. He had slept quite well, considering what had happened the day before.

He doubted he would have gotten that much rest if he had been in his room. Caius had no plans to lie with the princess; it was not a question. If he had not gone to Rose he would have remained in his room.

He walked to the door and unlocked it, and the butler and other servants came pouring in.

"Your Highness," Henry cried, bowing as he entered. "Is everything alright? We haven’t been able to get to you since last night."

"I fell asleep," Caius stated.

Henry glanced at the made bed. Except the Crown Prince had slept on the floor; he knew no sleeping had happened in this room. "Ah, okay."

Caius didn’t miss this, and he smirked right in Henry’s face, but the latter was too distraught trying to figure out whether the Crown Prince had slept in this room or not to notice.

"Your sword?" Henry asked after the Crown Prince was dressed and ready to leave the room.

"I will do without it today," Caius said as he left his room, acting casual about it. His sword, however, was still in Rose’s room, along with his boots—which he had left on purpose.

Caius still wore a trace of a smile as he left his room when the door next to him opened. Regardless of how good his mood had been, he tasted bile, and his mood immediately soured.

Caira appeared with her maids behind her who were quick to bow their heads. Caira was dressed in a flowery blue and white dress. Her hair was parted in the middle and it fell down her shoulders.

"Good morning, Your Royal Highness," Henry quickly offered, bowing.

She nodded at Henry, then quickly turned her attention to the Crown Prince. She curtsied. "Good morning, Prince Caius. I hope you slept well."

Caius hated when she called his name. It wasn’t that she said it wrong or that he disliked her voice. Rather, it reminded him that Rose would never call him so casually, and for reasons he couldn’t explain to himself, it irked him that Caira didn’t have these problems.

"I did, Princess Caira, and by the looks of things, I may have slept too early."

Caius watched her stiffen as she gripped the hem of her dress tighter, but Caira simply smiled at him—no sign of the anger and disappointment she felt. "I understand, Prince Caius. Yesterday was both exciting and exhausting for both of us."

Caius smiled genuinely. If he didn’t already dislike her, he might have liked her now. "Indeed it was. Would you walk with me to breakfast?"

Caira looked taken aback by his request and faltered, but only briefly. "Of course, Prince Caius."

"Wonderful," Caius replied.

He walked forward, and Caira stepped in line with him. There was barely any conversation, but it didn’t feel as drearily awkward as it usually did when it was just the two of them.

However, going to breakfast together was merely for appearances’ sake, and Caius had smiled at the realization that Caira would keep up appearances no matter what.

"What do you mean you slept off?" His mother yelled at him in the privacy of her bedroom.

He had barely finished breakfast when she told him she would like a word. It was a little strange, as this hadn’t just been a family breakfast; lords who had not left the night before had joined them.

Caius had immediately acted as though nothing was wrong, smiling politely with his mother. After breakfast, she could barely wait to hurl him out of there.

Caius was surprised she waited until after breakfast. From the look she had shot him when he and Caira arrived, she had known before breakfast—probably as soon as she woke up.

"I was tired, Mother. Preparing the wedding and everything that happened before and during the event was stressful."

"No one asked you to do that. Whether you were tired or not, what do you mean your bride slept alone on her wedding night? Have you lost your mind?"

Caius tried not to roll his eyes, but he didn’t want to escalate the issue any further. "I apologize, Mother. That really wasn’t my intention."

His mother’s anger seemed to dissipate, but she clearly wasn’t done. "And the whore?"

Caius winced. It felt as though she had screamed directly into his ears as she insulted Rose. He was used to her calling Rose in this manner but it didn’t soften how much it angered him.

"It won’t be long now," he said and started for the door, not giving his mother a chance to say anything else. He feared he might not be able to control his reaction.